Orange needles

[Lurcher-lady]

Looking at the Medisave site, it seems all orange needles are 1” is this ok for the thigh muscle. I’m not obese, but not skinny either, will this be ok for me?

[buster_uk]

I use the orange needle. Seems OK.

[pvanderaa]

That is what I use for IM into my buttocks. DB U-100 1ml Insulin Syringe 25 gauge, 1 inch (0.5mm x 25mm) in an orange sleeve. Work great.

I order mine annually in boxes of qty 100 from my local pharmacy. It’s about $35 for the box with my insurance. I’m injecting 2x per week.

[fbirder]

From here - unionmedico.com/expanded-ne...

How to measure the thickness of your skinfold?

To measure your skinfold choose an area on your thigh squeeze with your thumb and forefinger and pull away from the muscles, make sure it’s not just the skin you are pulling. Measure the tissue right between your thumb and forefinger; you can use an ordinary ruler for this.

If you are injecting intramuscular your needle size is 2/3 the thickness of the tissue. If you are injection subcutaneous your needle size is 1/3 the thickness of the tissue.

When I do this on my thigh the fold is only about 20 mm. So I should really be using a 5/8" needle, rather than the 1" I do use.

[Lurcher-lady]

Now, I’m not sure if this is just me, but I find this very difficult, I can pinch various thickness’s, from mega huge to relatively small, seems a bit hit and miss, maybe I’m better doing my arm 🤔

[wedgewood]

You need to pinch where you inject . For the thigh, it’s the outer middle 1/3 . Mine is the same thickness over that part . Much better injecting into thigh . You have a greater surface area to use and you can use each thigh alternately .

[Lurcher-lady]

Thank you Wedgewood, so if the needles not long enough, will it matter?

[Ritchie1268]

I have always used the orange 1" needle to inject into my thigh & the blue 1.5" to draw up the B12.

The nurse always does it the other way around but said that's the policy for that GP surgery as everyone is different & one size fits all with the blue.

Due to hardly having any fat on my thigh she said the orange one will do the same job for me.

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ritchie1268]

I bet she got muddled up and has been doing it the wrong way round ever since! Do you think she's the sort to question herself and double check to make sure she's getting it right??!

[Ritchie1268 in reply to deniseinmilden]

She didn't seem to be no. Just said the surgery always have to use blue to inject, but said I'd be fine SI with orange.

Strange thing is, since she showed me how & where to SI & the Dr knowing about it, I've not seen her at the surgery since! Conspiracy theory!

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ritchie1268]

Hmmm! 😃

[Ritchie1268 in reply to deniseinmilden]

🎶 doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo 🎶 😁

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ritchie1268]

😂😂

[Miss-guineapig]

I use blue, can't remember exact size. Remember and draw up with one needle and change to a new one before administering. The bore in the orange will be small, which can be a bit painful. Even as a nurse we rarely use orange these days, good luck x

[Lurcher-lady]

Thank you all, very interesting.

[deniseinmilden]

So long as it's in there it will get absorbed and the rate at which this happens doesn't really matter as we are not aiming for fast uptake.

[Lurcher-lady]

Thank you, my loading doses were beginning of June, felt worse after the first two, then couldn’t believe I was actually feeling better by the end of the 2 weeks, now all symptoms are back and the doctor thinks I’m imagining it, says it’s not possible etc etc. I’d like to swap legs, feet and hands with her. Can’t wait for the needles to arrive.

[esteloca]

I gained 100 pounds last year so I'm obese now 😞 & doctors tell me the 1 inch needle is fine for im injections in my thigh. I do it sitting on the edge of something so I can get to the muscle - at least I hope it's going deep enough. I also do it on the lower part where it's not as thick.

And as for your symptoms coming back, that's what happened to me and when I came here for advice I found the same thing happened to lots of other ppl too.

Your symptoms may even worsen for awhile. That's all normal - nerve repair can be as painful as damage at 1st.

Hope this makes sense - not thinking clearly today!

Take care

[Lurcher-lady]

Thanks so much, yes after the first two jabs I thought my heart was going to escape out of my chest, then my mouth and lips felt odd. At the end of the 2 weeks though I realised I was feeling lots better, now it’s back. Doctor says I couldn’t have felt better yet and it was placebo. Not sure how she thought I could placebo myself out of terrible leg pain, so I couldn’t get upstairs. I hope you’re feeling better now. How often do you inject?

[StaffsLass]

I SI both IM & SC. I use a blue needle to draw up the B12 then orange to inject. I'm not skinny and I find that orange works well for both.